Love Is All There Is
by cw1991
Summary: After things take a turn in directions she can no longer handle, Ginny finds herself with new challenges to face. Harry begins to notice things that he had not before. Look inside to see what happens.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: The Usual Disclaimers Apply, I don't own Harry Potter or the world and characters created by J. K. Rowling, I only dabble and play within it. This is a new story that I have been considering for a few days now and I wanted to give it a try. Here Goes, on with the show!**

Harry sat in the Gryffindor common room with a small book open before him, it had been a few days since he had began to notice any changes with the Gryffindor Quiditch Team and he was glad that they were finally making some progress with the changes that had been applied for the year. His greatest choice had been making Ginny one of the new Chasers, but at the same time it gave him more time with her as well, something that he seemed to be wishing he could do in private as well as in public. His feelings had always been those of friendship to the younger sister of his best friend, that was until about three days ago.

 _He had been walking along in the hall with Ron and Hermione, admiring her admonishment of Ron's homework skills when Ginny had joined them and walked to the Library with them. At first he had simply stayed quiet, trying to avoid invoking Hermione's wrath at his own poor study skills when something about the way Ginny kept looking at him caught his eye. He had already decided it was time to ask her about this, when he noticed that she was looking at him in a way that made him feel very important to her._

 _After she had excused herself to return to her normal routine, he had taken a walk by himself and followed her a few moments later to a quiet alcove that he hadn't seen before. She stood there for a moment and then Dean stepped out of the shadows and kissed her. Not wanting to be caught spying on them, he stepped behind the suit of armor he was in front of and watched quietly as she pushed the older boy away._

 _"Enough Dean." She said and the boy frowned._

 _"Yes, I guess this is enough." He said and slapped her hard. "I told you that I was going to wait for you an hour ago, where the hell were you?"_

 _Anger built up in Harry as he watched on, nearly ready to kill the boy he had thought of as a friend. Ginny stood there unmoving. Whispering quietly to herself before she turned on Dean, her wand already in her hand._

 _"If you ever touch me again I will hex you." She said, "It's over."_

 _She turned and stormed off down the hall, Dean stood there for a moment and then tore off after her calling out behind her. Harry, still stricken with anger pressed the brick into the wall behind him and stepped into the secret corridor that he knew lay behind the statue. Walking along, he kept his ears up and listened as he could faintly hear the two fighting ahead of him. Stepping out of the tapestry at the end he found Dean on the ground holding his face and Ginny running off down the corridor._

 _Not waiting to see if the boy was alright, he chased Ginny down the corridor and onto the next floor before she turned into a deserted classroom. Entering behind her he gingerly approached the desk she was leaning on, crying into the air. As he stepped up behind her she turned and then seeing that it was him, flung herself into his arms with a muffled sob. Not sure what to do, he gently held her, letting his hands rub her back soothingly._

 _"I'm s-sorry Harry." She said, after several moments, looking up at him through tear stained eyes, a large red mark on her face from where Dean had hit her._

 _"Don't be." He said, still holding her, unsure why he hadn't let her go yet._

 _"I hope you didn't see that." She said, stepping out of his arms._

 _"I did, bloody bastard." He said and she frowned, sitting down in the chair in front of the desk._

 _"Harry, I..." She said, and he was alerted to something in her voice. "He normally isn't like that."_

 _Harry nodded, "But, that is not excuse to hit you. Has he done this before?"_

 _She paused, hesitating and then nodded, bursting into more tears as she buried her face into her hands. He walked over and gently pulled her closer into a hug, letting her know that he was there for her. She held onto him as she sobbed into his shoulder, not caring if she upset him._

 _Finally after several moments she straightened and looked up at him. "Don't tell Ron." She said, a pleading tone in her voice._

 _"I won't, but you had best stay away from him or eventually Ron will find out about this."_

 _She nodded. "Thanks Harry." She said, standing and moving back a few inches to separate the distance between them._

 _Something in this move made Harry wonder why she had done so, was she afraid of him? Surely she knew he wasn't going to hit her or anything._

 _"I guess I better go and hide this." She said, indicating the red mark on her face._

 _"Yeah, I guess you better." He said in agreement, wishing he knew what had her so skiddish lately around him._

 _She hugged him once more and then turned and left the room, heading back to her Dorm where he was sure she would apply some salve and spells to make the red mark disappear before dinner._

He sighed and tossed the book onto the couch, hopping to his feet. It was getting to be a routine with him now as he continued to ponder about the situation that he felt was something he should have an answer to. Luckily he had not seen her near Dean since the disastrous moment that had occurred in the hall the other day. He still could not place why he felt so overwhelmed by her presence in his mind now, all of his thoughts bent towards her.

Deciding that a walk might serve him well, he waved a brief note of farewell to Hermione who appeared just as he was slipping out of the portrait hole. As the hall loomed on before him, he didn't know where to go, and just let his feet lead him as they would. He thought as he went until he passed an open doorway and a familiar flash of long red hair caught his eye.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: I am glad you all are liking this story thus far. I hope to be able to update at least twice a week if I can, hopefully more. So long as writer's block behaves. The usual Disclaimers apply, I don't own Harry Potter, it's all J. K. Rowlings.**

He stopped and turned towards the door with a curious feeling of spying in the pit of his stomach. As he neared the entrance he heard Ginny's voice clearly in the empty room beyond.

"I told you no more." She said, a hint of anger tinging her voice.

"And I told you to undress." Came the sharp reply of Dean.

"You have seen me in my bra and panties enough Dean, no more." She said, a defiance as strong as her personality edging her tone.

"Really." He said and there was a loud bang and a flash of light followed by a scream and thud.

Harry burst into the room, his wand aloft in his hand as he took in what he saw. Ginny lay on the floor, her clothes in tatters as she stared horror struck up at the boy before her. Dean, with a glint in his eyes, was suddenly awestruck as he looked at Harry in surprise.

"Well, this is unexpected." Dean said, a look of impatience.

"Very." Said Harry with pure loathing in his voice. "I suggest you leave, now before I make your pathetic life more miserable than you could ever imagine."

Dean smirked, "Famous Harry, always there to save the day."

"Harry..." A soft whimper came from the floor causing more anger to course through him.

"You will leave her alone Dean." He said, his wand pointing directly at the boy. "If I ever hear that you have so much as looked at her, I'll destroy you."

Turning to face her, he quickly averted his gaze when he realized just how badly her clothes had been destroyed, showing more flesh than undergarment. Offering her a hand which she gingerly took, he escorted her out of the room and down the hall towards a nearby hidden passageway where he mended her shredded clothing still unable to look at her until she assured him that it was all fixed.

"I won't tell Ron, again." Said Harry with a sigh that clearly stated that he was going against his better judgment. "But stay away from him, if I hear that either of you have been near the other I will have to tell Ron."

She nodded, looking at the floor instead of at him. He could tell she was ashamed that Harry had seen what Dean was doing, something he was sure was supposed to remain only between them.

"How often has he seen you?"

"Twice, but only in my underwear." She said, her face flashing a deep scarlet that made her hair appear more vivid that usual. "H-he's never seen me..." She continued, unable to finish the sentence.

He gently pulled her into his arms, giving her a comforting smile. "It's ok." He said reassuringly. "Just stay away from him and I will do what I can to protect you as well."

She nodded, burying her face into his chest as she burst into a sobbing fit leaving him unsure of what to do. Gently rubbing her back to comfort her, he let her cry into him for as long as she needed. When she was done, he gently took he hand and lead her towards the Great Hall where he could hear the dinner bells tolling through the walls.

Later that night Ginny sat in her dorm with the curtains of her fourposter drawn around her. She hadn't left the room since she came up here after dinner, wanting to be alone to think. It was hard for her to comprehend all that had taken place lately, especially with Dean and his new interest in forcing her to show herself to him. She had hated lying to Harry about his seeing her naked, but she didn't want to worry him. Luckily Dean had never forced her to have sex with him, but she knew it was only a matter of time before that happened.

Taking a long sigh, she scooted down further under the blankets and pulled them up closer to her chin. It was time to let Dean go and move on. She knew the real reason she was with him, it was a cover up to try to hide the long held feelings she had for Harry, but now it was time to end the torture she was allowing herself to be put through. As she strengthened her mind on the determination that it was over with Dean, she fell asleep with her usual method of letting her thoughts turn towards the boy she really wanted.

The next morning she awoke to the sound of an owl pecking on the window near her bed. Letting the bird in, she watched as it dropped a letter on her bed and then flew back out the window with a barely audible hoot of impatience. Picking up the letter, she quickly recognized Dean's untidy scrawl and with a grunt of displeasure tore the letter open.

 _Ginny,_

 _Meet me in the boathouse at lunch. We have a lot to discuss_

 _and a lot to make up for from yesterday. Harry's little disruption_

 _has not saved you, only made your punishment more severe. I_

 _told you not to tell anyone. Now you must pay the consequences._

 _-Dean_

She tore the letter up and buried her head in her hands. Today was not going to go well, she could already feel it in her stomach as she decided to skip her classes and take a walk along the lake. She dressed and grabbed her bag, heading to breakfast with an idea fixed in her mind. Today would be the last time Dean would ever mess with her, she would make sure of that.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Hopefully this chapter will explain some of the odd goings on between Ginny and Dean. I hope you all are enjoying thus far. All disclaimers apply.**

Harry straightened his hair before the mirror, trying to bring some semblance of order to the messy black locks. It was going to be another busy day but first it was time to head down to the pitch for another session of training. Ensuring that his robes were straight, he turned and headed out of the room. He still felt like he should tell Ron what he had seen going on between Ginny and Dean, but he feared what the redhead would do to the boy though he knew that Dean deserved that wrath.

As he entered the common room Ron joined him for his walk to the pitch, scarlet robes billowing in the light air that always seemed to exist within the confines of the room.

"Morning." He said as they exited into the corridor outside and began their walk.

"Mmm." Grunted the still sleepy Ron who was much in need of coffee.

"No breakfast today." He said, and had to jump from the playful swing that nearly met with his side as Ron threw him a punch.

"I hate these early practices."

Harry laughed, he knew ron still wasn't used to not getting breakfast before practice but it was the best time to train before the Pitch could be surrouned by people who might try to betray their plans.

"I'll make it up to you." He promised as they walked, soon joined by the rest of the team as the decended the stairs.

"Morning Harry." Called Ginny as they walked quietly through the castle, and he instantly felt a tinge of guilt at not telling Ron again.

The feeling that something lay beyond the familiar greeting also ate at his conscience as they trudged along. He knew it was something he should probably just forget as it was not his business, but still as long as he knew something was up he was bound by his honor to worry about her.

"Morning." He said, smiling politely enough to pass as a way of ensuring to her that her secrets were kept.

"Not so bloody loud." Called Ron who was still somewhere between sleep and irritability over no brekfast to bring his sloggy head to full awareness.

The other members of the team continued on in their quiet, sleepfilled manner as the grounds opened up before them through the double entrance doors. It was only a few moments before they ditched walking for the joy of flying towards the field, something Harry had long endured as a good wake up for them and a good way to warm up to the cool air. As he sped towards the Pitch it wasn't long before he soon felt the many things plaguing his mind flee and leave him able to feel free with the rest of them.

After practice Ginny found herself in her dorm again, preparing to meet Dean for lunch. Despite Harry's warnings she knew that she had better fall to his wishes at least until something could better be done. Harry had only come in during one of their scenes the other day, she and Dean had decided to try something new despite how wrong it was. He had addressed her with the idea and after listening to his description of what BDSM was, she had decided to try to please him and give it a go. Little did she know that it would bring out the real monster buried inside of him. Something she was still trying to hide, and continuously lie to herself about as well. Despite his brash and harsh behavior and acts, he really was a decent person, she just didn't know why he had to be so hard on her.

She was just adorning a light blue dress when Hermione walked in, bringing with her the fresh scent of spring flowers despite the fact that it was still only October.

"How was practice?" She asked cheefully. She knew that Hermione was only trying to help her to prepare for the inevitable as she had opened up to her weeks ago about Dean's idea.

"It was practice." She said with a smile.

"Good." She said with a grin, "Well I guess we should get to the Boat house."

Ginny groaned, "You got the letter as well?" She had hoped not to have to suffer through another threesome, but at least she was going to be with Hermione instead of alone with him.

"Yep." She said, her tone changing as she saw the look on Ginny's face. "What's wrong?"

Ginny frowned. "I don't want to do this anymore." She said, her heart aching at the thought of letting Dean go.

"Well, you can always tell him to bugger off." Hermione said encouragingly. "I know you still like Harry, maybe this time it will work?"

Ginny turned bright pink, still not used to this hopefull thought. "Speaking of Harry, he-he walked in on Dean and I the other day in the classroom."

"HE WHAT!" Hermione shrieked.

"Yep, luckily he thought Dean was just being a monster." She said with a frown. _Well really he was being a monster._

"Oh boy." She said with a sigh. "How did that go?"

"He keeps telling me to stay away from Dean and he threatened him." She said, her face falling as a tear streaked down her cheek smudging the make up she had just applied.

"I am not surprised, have you told him what is going on?"

"How could I?" She said, knowing that Harry would never understand.

"True, I don't think this is something you can exactly tell someone." Hermione nodded, "I just hope Ron doesn't find out about anything."

Ginny nodded in agreement, Ron would kill Dean if he knew anything about this. She sighed as they looked at each other, pale blue dresses matching as they headed towards their combined destination. When she had first introduced the idea to Dean that maybe hermione could be included she had meant it as a joke, but she was surprised when the following day she had met Dean to find Hermione there with him ready for a new scene.

When they reached the boathouse, she could smell the cloying scent of Dean's muggle cologne mixed with the familiar scents of nature that always pervaded around Hogwarts. She knew it was going to be another long and complicated afternoon and she just wasn't ready for this yet. She knew she should end this, seek redemption or at least what she had always wanted but something told her that Harry still wasn't ready to be with her yet. She just hoped that in the end all would work out the way it seemed to be going and that soon she would be rid of Dean.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: I love it when a story won't leave you alone. All the usual disclaimers apply.**

Harry sat in the common room before the fire, a book lying upon his chest as he dozed before the fire. Normally he would be out in the library with Ron and Hermione with their noses stuck in books for homework, but today he could not seem to find either of them since practice that morning. He had decided to just rest and enjoy the warmth and surprising quiet of the common room instead of trying to fight the throngs of the halls to find something to do. His mind was still a muddled mess from the mornings practice and the resurgence of his worries over not telling Ron or at least doing something himself over Ginny's problem with Dean.

Normally he would have already dealt with the problem or at least tried to help her in some way, but something kept telling him to leave it be that some how it would work out for her in the end. He could hear sounds from the grounds far off in the distance as they wafted up on the breeze, students having fun in the Saturday afternoon sun and the Squid splashing about in the lake. He smiled at the memories of Fred and George Weasley teasing that same Squid last year and the years before, giving it hell simply for existing. With a sigh he opened his eyes and noticed that Neville was watching him from the chair nearby.

"Hello Neville." He said with a nod toward the boy.

"Err, hi Harry." He said, the book in his hand falling to his lap.

"Something wrong?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at the boys actions.

"I just remembered, Ron asked me to tell you to meet him near the Library." He said, a look of dismay on his face.

"Did he say when?" Asked Harry with a smile, remembering how forgetful Neville could be.

"An hour ago." Neville said with a groan as he realized just how late his timing was.

"Ah..well, I guess I better go and see what he wanted." Said Harry with a frown as he stood and proceeded towards the hall outside with a groan as Ginny and Hermione came in, the former in tears as the latter tried to cheer her up.

Deciding to ask Hermione about it later, he slipped out into the corridor and proceeded in his search for Ron. Not far down the Hall his query stepped out of a hidden passageway and shouted as he caught sight of him.

"There you are!" he said, as he rushed toward him. "I guess Neville forgot to tell you I was waiting."

"He just told me." Harry said with a smile. "What did you need?"

"Nothing, just wanted to see if you wanted to beat Hermione to her study barrage."

Harry frowned, "You want to study?" he said incredulous as to the boy's sudden idea to focus on grades.

"Every little bit helps." He said with a shrug.

Harry sighed, but agreed and they proceeded back to the common room to grab their stuff before heading off to the Library to study. Neither of them saw Hermione on their way back through to the hall and thus decided to spare the wait and beat her to the library.

Ginny flung herself on her bed and burst into uncontrollable sobs, Hermione quickly coming to her and taking her into her arms. She had finally done what was needed, telling him to let her be after he had shown himself to be more of a monster than she had ever expected. During their lunch meeting, she had confronted him asking to end the BDSM part of their relationship and Dean had demanded that in doing so she would deprive him of his most primal being. She had tried to reason with him but instead he had tried to not only beat her but also had stripped her down to nothing and tried to force her to give herself completely to him, something he had never asked for before. She and Hermione had barely escaped from him when he had chased them down and threatened to force them to surrender their sex to him causing her to set a barrage of hexes upon him and run away leaving him to deal with them on his own.

"You did the right thing." Hermione said soothingly, and she knew she was right but somehow this felt like the ultimate betrayal to not only herself but to what Dean wanted as well.

"I-I..." Ginny said, she felt confused. She had loved Dean at one point in time, but somewhere along the way that love had been destroyed by the monster he had become.

"It's okay." Hermione continued, gently rubbing her back and trying to calm her. "Love is a very hard thing." She continued as she held her.

She sobbed harder. "Love...is a lie." She cried with a near howl as she buried her face into Hermione's shoulder and sobbed harder.

It felt as if every fiber of her being was burning alive, pain searing through her as her heart broke into pieces. She had wanted something special with Dean, having been asked out by him last year but having to turn him down due to being with Neville at the time. She was so sure that he was someone she could at least spend her life with and be happy should that be what was meant for her, but this was now no longer the case. She just could not be with the monster he had become in the last few months.

"Love is all there is." Hermione said with a sigh as she gently continued to soother her. "Without it, where would we be?"

Ginny hiccuped and pulled back to look at her. "W-what?"

"Without love, where would we be?" She repeated, gently resting a hand on her shoulder.

"I-I d-don't know." She said, feeling a sense of misunderstanding at her choice of topic.

"Without love, we would be nothing but animals lost to the world around us in a bleak and desolate world." Hermione said with a soft smile. "You loved Dean, and prior to your step into the lifestyle he wanted to try you had a beautiful relationship but now it's time for you to find what makes you happy."

"W-what makes m-me happy?" asked Ginny, "what makes me h-happy..."

Both of them knew what Ginny thought would make her happy, but neither of them wanted to breach that subject at this particular moment. She was so confused and bewildered with the way things had turned out that nothing seemed to be real. She had never truly expected to find herself without Dean, despite the fact that she knew she needed to free herself from him. Now that she was free of him, it meant that she had to rediscover herself again before she could determine what she was supposed to do next.


End file.
